Black Azaleas
by SSSRHA
Summary: "A geranium for stupidity/A camellia for divinity/A zinnia for an absent friend/A marigold for the love of the dead/And an amaryllis for the pride that will be your end/What a perfect bouquet to send." During the Massacre, Itachi realized that there was something wrong with his little brother. One-shot. Starts out light-hearted-ish, ends up slightly disturbing.


**Okay, before I start this, I just want to say that this took a lot darker of a turn then I expected...yeah. And yes, I am somewhat obsessed with flowers, don't judge.**

 **This was inspired by a much better, much funnier fic called "You're Not Hallucinating, Sasuke!" by Sarah1281. If you haven't read her work, I highly recommend that you do.**

* * *

"Oh my gosh," Sasuke muttered as he ran home, "how am I so _late_? The moon's already pretty high in the sky...what is it, 11 pm? 12? I should have paid more attention in Time-Judging class...is that even what it was called?"

When Sasuke passed the Compound Gates, he paused.

"What the heck? It's way too quiet! Aren't there supposed to be guards here 24/7 or something...and where's that couple that's constantly making out behind that tree?"

He walks over to said tree and blinks. "Okay...that's a lot of red. I guess they're dead...huh, that rhymed."

He started making his way down the streets, now at a much calmer pace, and took in the scenery.

"Okay...one, two...ten, eleven...twenty-five, twenty-six...yeah, I'll stop counting now." He had been counting the dead bodies he saw, and he was astonished. "It's like someone just came and killed everyone."

Sasuke paused. "Wait…"

He turned and started making a bee-line for his house, ignoring the human-looking thing that had been standing on one of the electric poles.

Inside his house, everything looked okay. "Mom and Dad are probably dead. Who would kill the whole Compound without killing it's leader?"

Walking into his parents room, he got his confirmation. Both his parents were lying dead on the ground, his older brother standing over them.

Sasuke squinted. "Hey, Big Brother, are our parents really lying dead on the ground?"

Itachi stared at him, internally startled in the casual way Sasuke had asked that. "Yes, they are."

Sasuke glanced up at Itachi, then took in the sword in his hand. "So...did you kill them?" He paused. "And everyone else?"

Once again startled, Itachi simply replied, "Yes."

"Okay...quick question, why?"

"To test my limits."

"...okay, why don't you come with me and I'll get you a nice white room at the crazy house? I'm sure you'll love it there."

It took a lot of willpower for Itachi to stop his eye from twitching. Maybe his little brother wasn't convinced that this was actually happening...yes, that must be it.

Itachi's eyes morphed shapes as he declared, "Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Sasuke's world turned black, white, and red, and he watched on bordely as Itachi killed everyone in there family in gory ways.

Sasuke winced once or twice at some of the more disturbing kills, but was altogether unaffected.

For the first time in his life, Itachi wondered if there was something wrong with his little brother.

"Wow…" Sasuke muttered, "you _are_ crazy. Or I'm crazy...either way, I'm going to the police station...which is probably empty apart from some corpses...okay, different plan." Sasuke's eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "I guess...I could go to Iruka-sensei's? I mean, he's really nice and he'll probably let me stay the night, but I'm not sure...would his wife be okay with it?" He paused. "Wait, does he have a wife? How old is he again?"

"Nineteen," Itachi supplied unconsciously.

"Oh, then no wife...maybe a girlfriend? Eh, you know what, screw Iruka-sensei. How about Naruto? He'll probably let anyone into his house as long as they're nice to him..."

And that was when Itachi realized that they were way off topic. "Foolish little brother, don't you hate me? Don't you _despise_ me?"

Sasuke considered that. "Well, you _did_ kill everyone in our family...so I guess? I don't know how this is supposed to work. People get happy when something good happens to them, sad when something bad happens to them, angry when someone does something bad to them, jealous when someone has something that they want, and scared when they feel like their life or someone close to them's is in danger.

"So...something bad happened to me, so I should be sad. You did something bad to me...I think...so I should be angry at you...you're probably in a good position to kill me right now, so I should be scared...and I think I've been jealous of you for a while now...and they're all bad emotions, so I guess that when they're all mixed together, I despise you."

Itachi was disturbed at how Sasuke reasoned himself into emotion without feeling any himself.

"Okay...so I shouldn't like you...and I don't want you near me...so maybe…"

Sasuke's eyebrows scrunched up as he thought about something. Suddenly, a look of pure terror entered Sasuke's eyes. He fell to the floor and scooched backwards until his back hit the wall. Arms raised in a pathetic defensive position, he whimpered, "D-Don't kill me!"

Itachi's eyes widened at the drastic change in demeanor. If he hadn't seen Sasuke a few minutes ago, he probably would have believed it, too.

He felt sick to his stomach. His precious little brother...didn't feel emotions. Not in the way people should, at least. He reasoned himself to the emotion that he felt best fit his situation, and imitated how he thought others would act. And perfectly, too.

His grip on his sword tightened. How...how could he have been so oblivious?

And now...how was he supposed to do this? If Sasuke reasoned himself into emotion, then Itachi wouldn't be able to condition him like he had planned.

Itachi's world suddenly turned upside down, and he got an idea. It better not backfire.

He turned his focus back on Sasuke.

"Normal people in this situation would act like that, very good, but follow my instructions and it will be even more believable."

And suddenly Sasuke wasn't trembling anymore. He looked up at his brother with curious eyes.

"Really? What would make it more believable?"

It somewhat disgusted Itachi...but he kept going. "When I'm gone, swear revenge against me. People will understand completely, since you're young and have had a very traumatic experience."

Sasuke nodded. "That makes sense."

"Good. Now, I'll give you my personal instructions. Unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"How?"

"Kill your closest friend." And Itachi realized that it may or may not work for Sasuke, considering his...unique condition.

Sasuke nodded. "And after that?"

"Go to the main temple of the Nakano Shrine. On the far right side, under the seventh mat, is the clan's secret meeting place. There you will find what purpose the dojutsu of the Uchiha Clan originally served."

Sasuke nodded again, going over all the information in his head. "Got it."

"When you've done that, find me and kill me."

"For revenge?"

"For revenge."

"Okay."

And Itachi suddenly wanted to cry. His poor baby brother...what had happened to him? He always seemed fine...but it was all an act.

"Sasuke," Itachi said.

"Yes?"

"How do you choose how people act in a certain situation?"

"I observe others and then draw my own conclusions. They're usually right. Today I was so surprised by the dead bodies that I didn't really consider what I should feel."

"But you always looked up to me. Most sibling relationships that we see are much less than exemplary."

Sasuke stared at him for a second. Then, he had a small smile on his face. "I know...but I could never bring myself to act like that. A problem on my part, but I decided not to think about it."

And Itachi's heart twisted as he realized that his little brother genuinely _liked_ him and _didn't even understand that he did._

Itachi turned. "I'll be leaving now. Remember my words, follow my instructions, and…" he glanced back, "...always think about how to act. There'll be a tight watch on you. Make sure no one finds out."

"Yes."

"Good."

And Itachi was gone.

Sasuke stared at the place where his brother was.

 _"A geranium for stupidity,_

 _A camellia for divinity,_

 _A zinnia for an absent friend,_

 _A marigold for the love of the dead..."_

Sasuke muttered the lines to a poem he had heard long ago as two tears streamed down his face. He wiped them away.

 _"And an amaryllis for the pride that will be your end._

 _What a perfect bouquet to send."_

He let out a weak chuckle. "So this is what sorrow is, huh? I wonder how many times I'll have to experience it."

He glanced at the far side of the room where a bouquet of azaleas lay on the floor, their black vase shattered.

An promise of death indeed.

* * *

 **...okay then. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to favorite and review and all that jazz...**

 **And yes, those were actual meanings for the flowers...though I twisted the meanings for a marigold and amaryllis a bit, but I just wanted some more impact.**

 **Until next time, this is SSSRHA, signing out!**


End file.
